Heat pump installations in the UK have already exceeded last year’s total, setting a new milestone for the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) with three months still to go in 2024. By the end of September, 42,000 installations were completed—outpacing 2023's total by approximately 4%.
The UK government is launching the Warm Homes Grant in 2025, an exciting initiative aimed at helping homeowners make their properties more energy-efficient. This fully funded scheme is available to those who meet certain criteria and could significantly reduce your energy costs while lowering your home's carbon footprint.
This week, the UK's last coal power station closed, signalling that the country’s energy landscape is undergoing a massive transformation. For over 200 years, coal was king, powering industry and homes alike. But today, renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydro are rapidly replacing fossil fuels in the national grid. With that change comes a new challenge—and opportunity—for those of us in the heating and plumbing industry.
With the UK election out the way and a new government in place, we feel it’s important to explore the potential implications for the heat pump market now that Labour has taken the helm. For plumbers, particularly those considering diversifying into heat pump installations, Labour's anticipated measures could present significant opportunities in the evolving green energy sector.
The UK remains overly dependent on natural gas, according to the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), which provides independent recommendations to the government.
In its recent annual assessment, the NIC highlights the urgent need to reduce reliance on high-cost, high-carbon natural gas and accelerate the adoption of heat pump technology to meet the ambitious net zero targets by 2050. According to the Commission, decarbonising buildings is a critical aspect of this transition and represents the single biggest challenge on the path to net zero.
Last month, Santander released a new report stating that UK House Buyers were willing to pay a premium for energy efficient properties. The study which surveyed 2,300 buyers found that energy efficiency was one of the most desirable features of a home, ranking higher than a large garden or a home office. Right now, buyers are placing a 9.4% premium on green properties, which is great news for anyone who has installed or is intending to install a heat pump at their property. On average, buyers were willing to pay £26,600 more for a green property which is considerably more than the cost of installing a heat pump.
On Tuesday, the BBC and many other media outlets published articles highlighting the concerns experts had regarding hydrogen as a home heating system and compared it to more efficient alternatives such as heat pumps. The article also looked into a new study that reviewed 32 pieces of literature relating to the merits of using hydrogen for domestic heating.
